Consultant, Southern Africa Political and Economic Analysis

**Consultant, Southern Africa political and economic analysis**

**Contract**: Full time; 2 years fixed term, renewable

**Remuneration**: Competitive, based on experience and competence

**Location**:Johannesburg or Cape Town

**Reports to**:Associate Director

**About us**

Africa Practice is a mission-led strategic consulting firm advising investors and development partners across the continent. Our mission is to shape a prosperous Africa that inspires the world. For over 20 years, we have been partnering with global investors, policy-makers, development partners and other changemakers to drive transformation on the continent.

Our insights and advocacy solutions are rooted in detailed systems and stakeholder understanding. We identify, generate, and analyse human-centred systems data to design impactful advocacy interventions. We deliver our world-class insights and advocacy solutions through our local presence.

We operate as one company, with a diverse team working on a hybrid basis in Abuja, Cape Town, Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Gaborone, Johannesburg, Lagos, Nairobi, and London. We are risk analysts, development economists, advocates, storytellers, data scientists, policy experts, systems thinkers and creative minds. Over 80% of our staff are African and over 50% are women. We have been a signatory to the UN Global Compact since 2021 and we are actively working to achieve B-Corp status.

**About the role**

Consulting services
- Undertake deep and extensive research, conduct comprehensive analysis, and assess risks and opportunities facing clients, with a focus on South Africa and the wider sub-region
- Support complex policy, political and stakeholder advisory projects, managing individual deliverables and workstreams
- Produce and deliver high-quality written and visual-led client-ready analysis on political, economic and policy developments across Africa, with a focus on South Africa and the SADC region, and participate in related client briefings
- Ensure that consulting projects are conducted and delivered within the required budget and timeframe while simultaneously satisfying Africa Practice’s quality standards
- Build strong, commercially sound client relationships
- Maintain a high level of local expertise through in-country intelligence gathering and open-source research, with a primary focus on the SADC region
- Network with key local and regional stakeholders to gather insights into policies, attitudes, current plans and upcoming announcements and advise clients on relationships with key stakeholders and stakeholder engagement planning

Other responsibilities
- Assist with building Africa Practice’s knowledge base regarding the sub-region, and develop related marketing material
- Contribute to further developing the methodologies and best practices applied by Africa Practice’s Insights practice
- Demonstrate emotional intelligence and empathy in managing cross-cultural relationships
- Contribute to a healthy, inclusive and sustainable working culture

**What we are looking for**
- At least 5 years of professional experience analysing and advising on political economy-related issues across the African ecosystem- Critical thinking, curiosity and analytical rigour - ability to understand how political economy, policy and commercial dynamics impact clients’ organisational strategies
- Strong project management skills - proven ability to deliver high-quality work on budget and on schedule and ensure accurate and complete project documentation.
- Outstanding verbal and written communication in English. An ability to write clearly, concisely and authoritatively to tight deadlines, with little editorial assistance, is crucial for this role
- Excellent investigative skills, combined with a genuine interest in, and deep knowledge of, African current affairs - with a clear focus on the political economy of South Africa and the SADC sub-region
- A robust network of contacts with local and regional political experts, government officials and private sector players, as well as demonstrated proactivity in expanding these contacts
- A dynamic self-starter, able to work on their own initiative on complex issues
- Ability to thrive in an agile and dynamic consulting environment by multitasking and prioritising effectively across multiple projects.
- Interest in exploring data sets, digital analytics and new technologies.
- Ability to cultivate strong, trust-based relationships within the company, with clients and with the wider stakeholder ecosystem.
- Excellent influencing, persuasion and engagement skills
- Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline ( international relations, political science, law), postgraduate degree preferred

**What we offer**
- Competitive remuneration
- Immediate opportunities for growth
- Collaboration with a diverse and experienced team of colleagues

Do you want to contribute to an influential and prosperous Africa, inspiring the world? We’re looking for Africa’s changemakers -